Performance-based additional funding to be implemeted in 2014

The Coordinating Board of higher education accepted performance-based funding as a formula for future funding increases in higher education.

By Carah Hart (Columbia, Mo.)

The performance-based funding ties funding to a school’s academic performance. With this, schools are required to meet 5 specific measures. The measures include academic goals and increasing graduation rates. It’s meant to be an incentive-based program.

This is how the system works: If one of the five is met, the school gets one-fifth of available funds. If two are met, the school gets two-fifth of available funds and so forth.

Universities like Truman State already have the requirements worked into their overall strategic plan. Troy Paino is president of Truman State University. He said Truman State supports the incentive for receiving increased funding. But, there will be some challenges in implementing performance funding for schools in the state.

“To be able to make the investments, to improve on performance, retention rates, and graduation rates at the time of dwindling resources is a huge challenge. As I said, it’s going to require all universities and Truman, specifically to provide even more focus than we’ve had in the past,” said Paino.

Paino also said in implementing these incentives, it all comes down to student success. So, performance-based funding should not be a fundamental change in operation.

“It’s just going to make us very mindful of where we’re investing our resources. That it really goes back to student learning and student success inside and outside the classroom," said Paino.

Educational institutions have the next year to determine what their goals are going to be. Performance-based funding is scheduled to be fully implemented by fiscal year 2014.